By the second half of the 1930s, Joan Crawford's movies were flagging at the box office and she was dubbed box office poison. In order to alleviate this setback, MGM decided to put her in the most trite, lackluster piece of cinema they could scrap up for her. Riding on certain movie trends of the late 1930s, they turned out The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939), dragging poor James Stewart down with it for good measure.
What can I say that has not already been said? This movie is a desperate cash grab, complete with flat characters, even flatter direction, and a plot that starts and stops to include kitschy ice skating numbers that range from impressive to offensive and cringe-inducing. Crawford and Stewart try their best to retain their dignity in this predictable and witless melodrama on ice, sometimes succeeding, but there was no saving this ship from going under.
What can I say that has not already been said? This movie is a desperate cash grab, complete with flat characters, even flatter direction, and a plot that starts and stops to include kitschy ice skating numbers that range from impressive to offensive and cringe-inducing. Crawford and Stewart try their best to retain their dignity in this predictable and witless melodrama on ice, sometimes succeeding, but there was no saving this ship from going under.